Kovelakuntla (Nandyal district) : Janani Women’s Bank, operating as Janani Mutual Aided Cooperative Credit Society, has been dissolved due to allegations of substantial financial fraud.

The incident came to light on Saturday at Kovelakuntla in Nandyal district. Bank CEO Venkataramana has been unreachable for the past 20 days, leaving depositors, mostly women from Kovelakuntla town, deeply worried about their hard-earned savings. Many had deposited lakhs of rupees in the cooperative society, and now their funds seem to be at risk.

One of the victims Haripriya from Kovelakuntla, speaking to the media, lamented that she was tricked by a false claim of appointment as bank treasurer. She was convinced to hand over 8.5 tolas of gold and Rs 5 lakh in cash, assuring assurances that gold will be kept securely in a locker. However, she later discovered that she had been scammed under the promise of high returns.

A retired teacher, Samudrala Balasubbaiah, said that he had deposited Rs 6 lakh in the bank, with the assurance of getting Rs 7.4 lakh including interest upon maturity. “However, when I tried to withdraw amount using the bank cheque, it bounced due to insufficient funds in the account,” he informed.

As concerns grew, depositors attempted to contact CEO Venkataramana, but his phone remained switched off. With no response for 20 days, frustrated depositors approached police to file complaints.

Kovelakuntla SI Mallikarjuna Reddy summoned the bank staff for questioning, who confirmed that Venkataramana had been missing and unreachable.

According to Janani Cooperative Society Secretary Padmavathi, numerous residents of Kovelakuntla had deposited lakhs of rupees in the bank. Venkataramana, who originally hails from Kadapa town, leveraged his local connections to establish Janani Mutual Aid Cooperative Savings Society. He expanded operations to multiple locations, including Kovelakuntla, Chagalamarri, Banaganapalli and Nandyal, under Janani MACS brand.

The institution lured customers by offering an interest of Rs 1 per one rupee on deposits while charging Rs 1.5 interest per rupee on loans.

Over the past four years, the society collected approximately Rs 2 crore from thousands of depositors, primarily women. Now, with the bank offices locked and no funds available, depositors are left stranded, demanding their money back.

With depositors in distress and pressure mounting, the police have intensified their investigation.

Many depositors continue to gather before the society’s offices, hoping for answers, while authorities work to uncover the full extent of the fraud.